Mom pulled into a parking lot that cost ten dollars to park in, and I got out to stretch my legs from the hour long drive. The heat warmed me and I forgot all about my recent fear. I was here to have a good time, not see spirits. I would keep my head down and focus on the living.
Lynley stood beside me with a fresh smile. It was nice to see this on her face.
“What changed?” I asked, thinking out loud. Pulling the long sleeve shirt off, she revealed a tank top, the rash disappearing as we stood there.
“I don’t know what changed, but I feel different. Maybe my mom was right, I needed fresh air.” It was remarkable, but the sea air did seem to be making her feel better. I didn’t care what it was. My friend was back and happy, and that was enough for me. Linking arms with her, we strolled toward the shopping strip, my mom walking briskly ahead of us. I noticed the array of teenage girls with too many bags full of overly expensive stuff. These girls had money, or rather Mommy and Daddy did.
Mom slipped into a store and turned to face us. “Stay on this side and don’t cross the street. I will meet you at the Starbucks in half an hour.” We nodded. Glancing at Lyn, I rolled my eyes. Don’t cross the street! If she only knew the dangerous stuff I had done already she would think crossing the street was a walk in the park. Lyn giggled and we both eyed the Hollister and went in, knowing we both loved that store. The smell of men’s cologne was like heaven in this store. The music was blaring and the summer clothes screamed ‘buy me’. I went straight for the dresses and Lyn to the T-shirts. I rifled through the flowery prints, hoping to find something that struck me with interest. “Look,” Lyn said coming toward me. It was a baby blue dress with no flowers. She knew me well and I grabbed it from her.
“Thanks, now let’s find you something.” She held up a plain tee with the store’s logo on it. It was typical Lyn to buy something so plain. She followed me to the dressing room and I ran smack into Marcy. Marcy was our schools uber-slutty bully. She scowled at me as she pushed me off of her like I had a disease.
“Ugh, school dorks shopping in the cool store. You hoping to gain some status in the school in senior year?” Her face scrunched up. “I think you need more than cool clothes to do that.” I’d had a few run-ins with Marcy already this year. It was clear that no matter what Lyn and I did, we would forever be on her dork list.
“You know, Marcy, it doesn’t matter that you shop here either,” I started as I stood to my full height. I was a bit taller than her and not afraid of her in the least. “Cool clothes will never erase what a bitch you are.” Lyn gasped and held her mouth. Marcy’s already scrunched face grew twisted with anger and embarrassment. It was always her Achilles’ heel to be called a bitch. She stepped forward, not showing fear either. This could possibly turn ugly if she let it. I had never gotten into a fight, but I would love to punch her. She had tormented too many people at Wilson High and nobody ever stood up to her except for me.
“Watch your step, Branson,” she said as she moved around me. I thought for a moment I saw a tear in her eye. Throwing her clothes to the ground, she walked out of the store.
Lyn laughed. “That was epic, Brylee. You managed to insult her and keep your face in one piece.”
After we paid for our stuff, we went into the Starbucks to order lattes. My mom wasn’t there yet, so we waited. I didn’t mind hanging out with Lyn for a while. It had been too long since we had some alone time. Every time we tried, she was always too depressed. She had no hint of that depression today, though. She sipped her drink and we talked about school and our summer plans. Ephraim’s graduation was only weeks away and our summer would begin. He didn’t make plans for college this fall, which was a huge mistake. Ephraim didn’t think there was hope for him, I didn’t agree. This curse was ruining his chances at doing anything with his life. I tried to make him understand that I would find a cure even if I died trying. He usually ignored me or changed the subject.
“So did you get a new bathing suit yet?” Lyn asked, taking me away from thoughts of Ephraim.
“No, not yet. I will just wear my old one. No one will care.” It was the last thing on my mind, going to the beach. However, Lynley seemed to be doing so much better with the air coming from it now, that I thought she wanted to spend as much time here as possible.
“Hey, Lynley, do you think your mom doesn’t like me?” I didn’t want to discuss it, but I felt I needed to. I loved them both so much that I couldn’t stand someone disliking me.
“Why? Did she say something to make you think that?” The pain in her face made me think this was a huge mistake.
“No, of course not. It’s just me, I bet,” I lied. “I guess I got the wrong impression.” She bought my lie and we talked summer again.
Mom had bought three new outfits for summer and she suggested we walk the boardwalk. I’d been looking forward to it since we moved here. After hearing so many great things about saltwater taffy, I craved it. We hit that store first, stuffing our faces with all the flavors there were. I knew I would regret that decision very soon as my stomach had already started to grumble.
“Let’s go look at bathing suits,” Lyn suggested after we left the candy store. I stared at her in amazement. The pale girl who never goes in the sun wants to look at suits? Okay, I’ll play. We left my mom in a bookstore to search for the right place. After visiting two stores, Lyn found a cute shop that had one piece suits that fit her style.
Not wanting to hang out and wait for her to try on the seven she had picked out, I asked, “Do you mind if I look around for a bit outside?”
“No way! Go, I’ll meet you back her in a bit.” She ducked inside the dressing room and I ventured outside. The seagulls call was beautiful, so I went to the other side of the boardwalk to look at the ocean. It was furious with frothy waves that slammed the shore. I noticed a slight chill in the air and thought maybe a storm was coming. One thing I would never understand was New Jersey weather. It could be beautiful and sunny one day, and freezing rain the next. Sighing, I went back toward the shops. I didn’t see the woman approach me until she was up in my face. Her sleek black hair reached the back of her knees in length; her brown eyes were wide and her lips grim. She looked terrified as she grabbed my arm, yanking me toward a small shop that smelled like too much incense was being burned.
“Let go of me!” I yelled, but she fought me into the shop. I had no strength to get her off of me; she was stronger than me. Once we were in the shop, the beads that hung in the doorway swayed irritably.
“Do you know what you are?” She finally let go of me and I rubbed my sore arm. If I had any sense I would have run out of there right away, but I didn’t. I wanted to know what she meant. She ran around the small room that was decorated in Indian décor, frantically searching for something. Spying a Buddha in one corner and Christ on the cross in the other, I wondered where she was from. She wore a gold sari that hung to the floor and had turned brown from the dirt. She rifled through books and papers until she picked up a black book with strange markings. I waited with baited breath to see what she had brought forth.
“Sit,” she said.
“I don’t think I should sit. I have no money to pay you and I don’t want my fortune read.” I suddenly remembered Mrs. Mayhew’s warnings of gypsies. Was she one?
She laughed and grabbed my hands, pulling me into a chair.
“I found you, not the other way around,” she said as she sat in a velvet chair across from me. “If you come in here, then you pay.” She slammed the book on to the table and turned the pages. “Aha, here it is. You’re a dead talker; I knew I saw that color aura before. I just couldn’t place it.” Puzzled, I looked at her. I had never heard that term before, dead talker. “You’re one of a kind. I only see maybe one or two of you every few years.”
“What is a dead talker?” I asked with no clue what to expect. She sat back into her chair, pulling her long hair around her right shoulder.
“A medium, someone who can see and talk to the dea
d. You know you have this ability, don’t you?” I nodded, but said nothing. I was still confused as to why I was in here. “I call them dead talkers, it’s fun to say.”
“Who are you? Why do you want me?” I asked rudely.
“I am Hala, and you are?” I had reservations on giving her my name. I mean, who knew what this chick wanted. Sure, maybe she had a lucky guess that I could talk to the dead, but I didn’t know her and didn’t owe her anything. Nevertheless, I went ahead and told her anyway, because that’s just me.
“Brylee,” I said. She lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Brylee is your name? Ah, that is so beautiful. Tell me how long you have been talking to the dead?”
“Not long, only recently. I moved here and the house I live in is full of ghosts.” I should have just given her my address along with it. Why couldn’t I just shut up? “It’s not like me to be so forthcoming,” I admitted.
“I know. It’s the room, not you. You want to keep the secrets, but this room is making you tell me. Never mind all of that though, let’s talk about this house, shall we?” My head spun in confusion.
“What … what about it?”
“Where is it and who lives in it? Besides yourself, of course.” Leaning forward, she stared into my eyes. I felt like this was all a dream. The outside didn’t exist to me any longer. Only this small room and her. Spilling my guts, I told her everything.
My voice grew quiet and disconnected. “My parents and I moved here from California. We had to leave our beautiful home for money reasons.” I paused in thought. “Now we live in Wilson, in a house everyone said was haunted. I didn’t believe it at first. I just thought the noises were my own imagination. Until I saw my first spirit. Now I see them all the time. They talk to me like I am among them. I thought the rumors going around about my house were false, but they’re not. They are true because I live in the Brown’s house. The notorious Brown family was the first inhabitants of my home.” It was as if I was in a trance. I took a heavy breath and went on. “I am the only one who can talk to them now. They need my help to free them from the house.”
Her smile faded and she stood up fast, breaking my trance.
“Out! You must get out of here.” She pulled me up by my already sore arm and practically threw me out on my butt. “You must never come back, do you understand me?”
“Why not? What do you know about my house?” I asked as she lowered the doors.
She peered behind the bars and looked at me with her serious stare. “That house is not just some house. There is real evil there; you may not have seen her yet, but she is trapped there. She is awaiting a dead talker like you to release her. You mustn’t do it, do you hear me?”
I nodded, still thoroughly confused. “Who is it? Is it one of the Browns?”
“I can’t say anymore.” She turned and walked away from me, leaving me outside. I stood there motionless, waiting for her to come back, but she didn’t. Instead I shoved on the barred doors and cursed loudly. This whole day went from screwed up to even more screwed up. I was a dead talker, and now there were not only ghosts in my home but one who was an evil ghost. I wasn’t sure if I should believe her or not. She did get it right that I was a medium, but many people know stories about my house. Some are completely false accusations; while everyone is right about it being haunted they don’t have the story straight by far. Except for Lyn, of course she and Ephraim knew the truth because of their dad. He had seen Pearl and Violet.
“Where have you been?” Lyn screeched as she pulled me up from the ground. I hadn’t realized I was sitting there until now. “I have been looking all over for you. We need to meet your mom for dinner.” I just stared at her. I wanted to tell her, but I didn’t want to worry her. The last thing she needed was to know about more evil in the house than there already was. To be honest, the story about the evil could very well just be the curse, even though Hala had mentioned a ‘she’. I didn’t know who she was talking about, but I wouldn’t worry, I had other things to do. More important things to keep my mind busy.
“Brylee?” Lyn pulled on my arm. “Wake up!”
“I am awake, I was just thinking about something,” I lied.
She gave me an odd look. “Gosh, you look like hell!” She pulled me down the boardwalk to where my mother was waiting for us at a small pizza place that made my hungry stomach gurgle. I couldn’t ever resist New Jersey pizza. It was my weakness and today it was my distraction. I sat down with Lyn as she told us all about her new bathing suit, and proceeded to eat my sorrows away.
On the way home Lyn fell asleep in the backseat, snoring lightly. I rolled the windows down, letting the sea air fill the car until we reached the woods again. My mom seemed edgy and I didn’t know what it was that she was feeling. If she only knew what I was going through. I imagined telling my parents everything once. The result would be me in an institution, far away from Lyn and Ephraim, caged like an animal and unable to help them.
Finally, my mom spoke. “I want to discuss Ephraim graduating.”
“Okay, let’s discuss,” I replied as I rolled up the windows.
“Well, your birthday is coming up and you’ll be seventeen.” Duh.
“We know that Ephraim is eighteen now and will soon be nineteen.” She cleared her throat. Where was she going with this? Like I didn’t know how old we all were. “Your dad and I just want to be sure you both are thinking of the long term here. It’s going to be really hard to make a relationship work when he is in college, Brylee.” I sunk into the seat. This discussion sucked!
“Mom, he doesn’t care about that. We live right next door, we’re still gonna see each other.”
“That’s what worries me a little. He will expect things from you … like sex.” Kill me now! I had the urge to jump out of the car, but Lyn woke up.
“Are we there yet?” she asked groggily.
My mom told her in a few minutes and that was the end of our uncomfortable conversation. Thank you, Lyn!
Once we pulled into the driveway, I burst from the car like a bratty teenager. Lyn grabbed her bags and I walked her home. Her skin looked amazing and she couldn’t wait to tell her mom all about it. Just as she put her key in the door, her mom opened it. “Lynley, your skin!” She checked her over, noticing it was better. When I expected a smile, she only frowned. It was like she was disappointed, but maybe it was only worry over her daughter’s changing body. Lyn gave me a hug and skipped inside the house. I left when the door was slammed in my face. I wouldn’t be seeing Ephraim until tonight I supposed.
As I was walking to my house, I caught my name being said. Stopping, I listened hard.
“I don’t like her.” The voice was Carole’s. I stepped closer to the house to hear more, holding my breath in fear of being caught. The kitchen window was only inches from my head.
“Mom, she’s my best friend and Eph’s girlfriend. What is it you don’t like?” Lynley asked in shock.
“I don’t trust her at all. I don’t want you going out with her for a while, okay?”
“Mom! You have no reason not to like her. You let me go with her today.” Lynley’s voice sounded raw, like she was close to tears. I applauded her for sticking up for me.
“Only because her mom practically begged me. I mean it, Lyn, you need to find new friends. There is something wrong with that one.”
The shock of her words stung me like attacking wasps. Backing away from the house, I ran home. My throat was tight with sadness. I had never done anything to her to cause her to feel that way about me. I knew that morning that she didn’t like me and she had confirmed it just now. Bursting into my house, I ran past my mom who seemed to want to keep talking. I didn’t feel like it so I went upstairs. I fell onto my bed and cried until I drifted to sleep.
Chapter 3
Hearing the hinges squeak, I realized my door was opening. I shoved my face into my pillow, unable to speak to my mom about anything right now. I didn’t know how long I had slept and I didn’t car
e. I wanted only to be left alone for a little while. Cold air entered the room and I pulled the covers over my head. “I don’t want to talk,” I mumbled. There was no response, so I lifted my head, checking to see if the coast was clear. My face was met with another and it wasn’t my mom. She stared into my eyes, the fair-haired woman that I had seen last week. I gasped as she pulled out her comb and started to brush my hair. I felt sick and scared. What the hell was she doing?
“So beautiful. So perfect,” she whispered. “I would kill for hair like yours. I would kill to be you.”
“Who. Are. You?” I managed to say. She smiled a wicked smile that showed rotten teeth behind her beautiful lips. I cringed, pulling away from her, and she dropped the brush on the floor.
“Look what you made me do!” she yelled. I pulled my covers over my head, willing her to go away.
“Go away, go away, go away!” I yelled back.
The covers left my hands as she ripped them off of me. She moved her face close to mine, her rancid breath stinging my nose. “I can’t leave.” I shut my eyes as tight as I could, hoping she would leave. I didn’t know why she was being so awful to me. She was obviously stuck here like the rest, but yelling at me wasn’t going to get me to help her. I felt the air shift and guessed she was gone. When I opened my eyes, she was no longer in my room.
Later that night, at dinner, I finally had to see my mom. We sat like a happy family at the kitchen table. I pretended I didn’t see a ghost, and my parents pretended they liked Ephraim sitting with us at the table. He had come over to see me while my mom cooked, and stayed to eat at their insistence, but now it seemed tense. I prayed they wouldn’t say anything to him about what we started to discuss in the car.
The Crimson Key Page 2
